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How is Dubai
Expo 2020
affecting
business?
One UAE-based manufacturer is
seeing unprecedented growth ahead
of next year’s global fair

Published: July 23, 2019 11:37

Peter Feely | Editor - Commercial Publishing

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Expo 2020 is expected to add almost 100,000

new jobs to the economy
Image Credit: Shutterstock

An independent report published earlier

this year and commissioned by the Dubai
government said that Expo 2020 will
contribute more than Dh122.6 billion to
the country’s economy by 2031. The
report, by the consultancy EY, also stated
that at its peak, Expo 2020 will generate
business equivalent to 1.5 per cent of the
UAE’s GDP.

Expo 2020 is expected to add almost

100,000 new jobs to the economy. But
what impact is the Expo having on UAE-
based businesses now that it is just over a
year away?

Wolfgang Douglas, Operations Director

and CEO of Timberwolf LLC, says that his
business is already experiencing
significant growth ahead of Expo.
Douglas’ business is a fourth-generation
bespoke timber provider. It offers products
and services ranging from specialist
timber, steel design and build applications
to bespoke theme feature infrastructure
and the provision of supporting elements
to construction.

We are seeing
record
numbers of the
back of Expo
2020. We have
provisionally agreed
tender projects worth up
to Dh750 million.’’
- Wolfgang Douglas, Operations Director
and CEO of Timberwolf LLC

“We are seeing record numbers of the

back of Expo 2020. We have provisionally
agreed tender projects worth up to Dh750
million. We are seeing huge volumes that
are many times over previous years’
trading and we are seeing more than 1,000
per cent growth,” he says.

The English expat says that Timberwolf

has established a unique position in the
market, giving it an advantage over its
overseas and local competitors. As a
result, the business has been involved in a
number of highest profile jobs here in the
UAE, ranging from The Palm Jumeirah
Crescent, Abu Dhabi Corniche and the
Burj Khalifa to Atlantis The Palm Hotel
and Bloomingdales.

Large-scale projects Timberwolf has

contributed to include La Mer, Dubai Opera
House and City Walk
Image Credit: Shutterstock

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Other specialised, large-scale projects

Timberwolf has contributed to include La
Mer, Dubai Opera House and City Walk.

“When we approach clients, we are able to

offer custom, one of a kind, locally
manufactured products, constructed using
the latest innovations. This includes eco
green and fast build technology, which
only we offer in the region. Our products
include the latest CLT (cross laminated
timber) structural technology, which
we’re predominantly using throughout
the upcoming Expo 2020,” he says.

“We also work with international partners

that sign off on QA/QC [quality control
and quality assurance] programmes. If we
are working with Expo, we joint venture
with renowned international specialists,
such as Bodino Italy, and use them to
guarantee that Timberwolf continues to
deliver the highest standards in the
market.”

Douglas refers to how Timberwolf

develops fast build technology and
incorporates new design and build
concepts such as light gauge steel and
cross laminated and glulam timber. It
means that the products are strong and
stable with high fire safety standards.

The company undertakes extensive timber

decking as part of landscaping
Image Credit: Shutterstock

Exploring all opportunities

Timberwolf’s CEO believes that, although
there are a multitude of opportunities
surrounding the Expo event itself, firms
should also look at the developments that
are taking place on the back of the fair.

“To be part of the chain doesn’t

necessarily mean that you need to work
with Expo directly. You just need to ensure
that you don’t let the chain pass by and
you must invest now. Our work involves
legacy work, pavilions, landscape and
hardscape work, but most of our business
comes through supporting projects such
as hotels, hospitals and schools.”

While Expo is already significantly increasing

Timberwolf’s revenue, its CEO believes that the
long-term benefits will push the Dubai
economy to the next level
Image Credit: Supplied

Investing in staff
One area that Douglas believes many
companies are overlooking is ensuring
that they secure the right talent ahead of
an upturn in business as Expo gathers
momentum. He likes to take a hands-on
approach to recruitment, putting
candidates from across the world and the
region through rigorous assessment to
make sure he finds the very best
applicants.

“If you are a local company in Dubai, I

would advise that you invest in people and
get the best staff that you can source. In
the next one-and-a-half years,
Timberwolf is in line to experience
exponential growth and we are currently
hiring every day. We employ around 330
people and we are hiring around 2,500
blue-collar workers through labour
supply.

“We are hiring civil engineers, project

directors and project managers. We are
bringing people in from all over the world
but we are also hiring local talent who,
without Expo, would have to return
home.”

A lasting legacy
While Expo is already significantly
increasing Timberwolf’s revenue, its CEO
believes that the long-term benefits will
push the Dubai economy to the next level.
“Dubai Expo will demonstrate to the
world that the city can build first-world
technology at the lowest taxable rates in
the world,” he says.

“The Emirate has first-world

infrastructure where businesses can make
products here at a fraction of the price of
other first-world economies. Dubai has
lots of economic advantages and few
negatives. The new Expo ethos is
indicative of what the next ten years in the
country is going to look like and if your
business is not green, then it is not aligned
to the values of Expo.”

This content comes from Reach by Gulf

News, which is the branded content team
of GN Media.

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